UN Warns of 'Rapidly Unfolding' Health Disaster in Gaza

Weeks of intense fighting
has left medical services and facilities in the Gaza Strip
“on the verge of collapse,” according to senior United
Nations officials in the region who today warned that a
health disaster of widespread proportions is rapidly
unfolding as the conflict grinds on.

“We are now looking
at a health and humanitarian disaster”, warned James W.
Rawley, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied
Palestinian territory, adding: “The fighting must stop
immediately.”

This latest warning comes in the wake of
the collapse yesterday of a humanitarian ceasefire brokered
by the United Nations and the United States, which led a
“profoundly shocked and disappointed” Secretary-General
Ban Ki moon to state that: “Instead of giving both sides,
especially Gazan civilians, a much needed reprieve to let
them attend to their injured, bury their dead and repair
vital infrastructure, this breach of the ceasefire is now
leading to a renewed escalation.”

Joining Mr. Rawley in
sounding the alarm today about the looming health
catastrophe as a result of the ongoing violence are Robert
Turner, Director of Operations in the Gaza Strip for the UN
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East (UNRWA), and Dr. Ambrogio Manenti, acting Head of
Office of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) operations
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In a joint press release,
the officials also expressed grave concern regarding the
lack of protection for medical staff and facilities, and the
deteriorating access to emergency health services for the
1.8 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

After more
than three weeks of intense conflict, Gaza's medical
services and facilities are on the verge of collapse. One
third of hospitals, 14 primary healthcare clinics and 29
Palestinian Red Crescent and Ministry of Health ambulances
have been damaged in the fighting.

According to the United
Nations, at least five medical staff have been killed in the
line of duty and tens of others have been injured. At least
40 per cent of medical staff are unable to get to their
places of work such as clinics and hospitals due to
widespread violence and at least half of all public health
primary care clinics are closed.

In addition, in the last
24 hours, anonymous calls were made to staff at both the
Najjar Hospital in Rafah and Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City
warning of imminent attacks, causing major panic and chaos
among patients and staff. Najjar Hospital was evacuated and
remains closed due to fighting nearby.

The hospitals and
clinics that are still functioning are overwhelmed: since 7
July, more that 8,000 people have reportedly been injured,
many seriously. Critical supplies of medicines and
disposables are almost depleted and damage and destruction
of power supplies has left hospitals dependent on unreliable
back-up generators, says the press release.

Al Shifa, the
main referral hospital in the Gaza Strip, is inundated with
casualties and people seeking safety in its grounds. “The
ability to provide necessary healthcare is being severely
compromised. This puts the lives of thousands of
Palestinians in needless danger”, said Dr.
Manenti.

Compounding this already-grave situation, an
estimated 460,000 people have been displaced and are now
living in overcrowded conditions in schools, with relatives
or in makeshift shelters. This, coupled with lack of
inadequate water and sanitation, poses serious risks of
outbreak of water-borne and communicable diseases.
“Hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering in
terrible conditions, pushing UNRWA's coping capacity to the
edge”, said Mr. Turner.

Mr. Rawley stressed that
“international law sets out clear obligations on the
parties to the conflict to respect the status of hospitals
and medical facilities as protected objects, to respect the
status of and ensure the protection of medical personnel, to
ensure the protection of civilians and to respect the
fundamental human right to health."

The three officials
also paid tribute to Gaza's medical staff for working
tirelessly in dangerous and difficult conditions to continue
to provide urgently needed healthcare.

Yesterday, Mr.
Rawley, along with the Minister of Social Affairs and
Agriculture of the State of Palestine, Shawqi Issa, appealed
for $369 million to meet urgent needs in
Gaza.

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